Dennis O'Neil

Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil (born May 3, 1939)[4] is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.

Biography

Early life

O'Neil was born into a Catholic household in St. Louis, Missouri. On Sunday afternoons he would accompany his father or his grandfather to the store for some light groceries and an occasional comic book.[2] O'Neil graduated from St. Louis University around the turn of the 1960s with a degree centered on English literature, creative writing, and philosophy. From there he joined the U.S. Navy just in time to participate in the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[2]

After leaving the Navy, O'Neil moved on to a job with a newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. O'Neil wrote bi-weekly columns for the youth page, and during the slow summer months he filled the space with a series on the revival of the comics industry.[6] This attracted the attention of Roy Thomas, who would eventually himself become one of the great names in the history of the medium.[2]

Writing

Marvel Comics

When Roy Thomas left DC Comics to work for Stan Lee at Marvel Comics, he suggested that O'Neil take the Marvel writer's test, which involved adding dialogue to a wordless four-page excerpt of a Fantastic Four comic. O'Neil's entry resulted in Lee offering O'Neil a job.[2] O'Neil had never considered writing for comics, and later said he'd done the test "kind of as a joke. I had a couple of hours on a Tuesday afternoon, so instead of doing crossword puzzles, I did the writer's test."[6]

When Marvel's expansion made it impossible for Lee to continue writing the company's entire line of books, Lee passed as much on to Roy Thomas as he could, but still needed writers, so O'Neil took the reins for a short-term run of Doctor Strange stories in Strange Tales, penning six issues. He also wrote dialog for such titles as Rawhide Kid and Millie the Model, as well as scripting the final 13 pages of Daredevil #18 over a plot by Lee, when Lee went on vacation.

Charlton Comics

The available jobs writing for Marvel petered out fairly quickly, and O'Neil took a job with Charlton Comics under the pseudonym of Sergius O'Shaugnessy.[2] There he received regular work for a year and a half from Charlton's editor Dick Giordano.[2]

DC Comics

In 1968 Dick Giordano was offered an editorial position at DC Comics and took a number of Charlton freelancers with him, including O'Neil. Charlton talent arrived at DC from a different culture of comics. At DC, the office seemed like a snapshot from 1950, with a crowd of short-haired men in white shirts and ties. The jeans-wearing, hippy trended Charlton crowd visibly represented a different generation.

O'Neil's first assignments involved two strategies for bolstering DC's sales. One approach centered on the creation of new characters, and O'Neil scripted several issues of Beware the Creeper, a series starring a new hero, The Creeper, created by artist Steve Ditko. From there, DC moved O'Neil to Wonder Woman and Justice League of America. With artist Mike Sekowsky, he took away Wonder Woman's powers,[9] exiled her from the Amazon community, and set her off, uncostumed, into international intrigues with her blind mentor, I Ching. These changes did not sit well with Wonder Woman's older fans, particularly feminists, and O'Neil acknowledged that de-powering DC's most well-known superheroine had unintentionally alienated readers.[10] In Justice League, he had more success, introducing into that title the first socially and politically themed stories, setting the stage for later work on Green Lantern/Green Arrow.[2] He and artist Dick Dillin made several changes to the membership of the JLA by removing founding members the Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman.[11]

Following the lead set by Bob Haney and Neal Adams in a Brave and the Bold story that visually redefined Green Arrow into the version that appeared in comics between 1969 and 1986, O'Neil stripped him of his wealth and playboy status, making him an urban hero. This redefinition would culminate in the character that appeared in Green Lantern/Green Arrow, with many stories also drawn by Adams, a socially conscious, left-wing creation that effectively took over Green Lantern's book to use him as a foil and straw man in sounding out the political concepts that would define that work.[2][12] It was during this period that the most famous Green Arrow story appeared, in Green Lantern #85–86, when it was revealed that Green Arrow's ward Speedy was addicted to heroin.[13][14] As a result of his work on Green Lantern and Green Arrow, O'Neil recounted, "I went from total obscurity to seeing my name featured in The New York Times and being invited to do talk shows. It's by no means an unmixed blessing. That messed up my head pretty thoroughly for a couple of years. ... Deteriorating marriage, bad habits, deteriorating relationships with human beings – with anything that wasn't a typewriter, in fact. It was a bad few years there."[6]

O'Neil's 1970s run on the Batman titles, under the direction of editor Julius Schwartz,[15] is perhaps his best-known endeavor, getting back to the character's darker roots after a period dominated by the campiness of the 1960s TV series.[16] Comics historian Les Daniels observed that "O'Neil's interpretation of Batman as a vengeful obsessive-compulsive, which he modestly describes as a return to the roots, was actually an act of creative imagination that has influenced every subsequent version of the Dark Knight."[17] O'Neil and Adams' creation Ra's al Ghul was introduced in the story "Daughter of the Demon" in Batman #232 (June 1971)[18] O'Neil and artist Bob Brown also created Talia al Ghul.[19] During this period, O'Neil frequently teamed up with his regular collaborator Adams (with Giordano often assisting on inks) on a number of memorable issues of both Batman and Detective Comics. The creative team would revive Two-Face in Batman #234 (Aug. 1971)[20] and revitalize the Joker in "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!" in Batman #251 (Sept. 1973), a landmark story bringing the character back to his roots as a homicidal maniac who murders people on a whim and delights in his mayhem.[21][22] O'Neil and Giordano created the Batman supporting character Leslie Thompkins in the story "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" appearing in Detective Comics #457 (March 1976).[23] O'Neil and artist Don Newton killed the original version of Batwoman in Detective Comics #485 (Aug.–Sept. 1979).[24] He wrote a short Christmas story, "Wanted: Santa Claus – Dead or Alive", for DC Special Series #21 (Spring 1980) which featured Frank Miller's first art on a Batman story.[25]

When Julius Schwartz became the editor of Superman with issue #233 (Jan. 1971), he had O'Neil and artist Curt Swan streamline the Superman mythos, starting with the elimination of Kryptonite.[26] In 1973, O'Neil wrote revivals of two characters for which DC had recently acquired the publishing rights. A new series featuring the original Captain Marvel was launched with a February cover date and featured art by the character's original artist C. C. Beck.[27] Later that same year, O'Neil and artist Michael Kaluta produced an "atmospheric interpretation" of the 1930s pulp hero in The Shadow series.[28] In 1975, O'Neil wrote a comic book adaptation of the 1930s hero The Avenger.[29] A revival of the Green Lantern title in 1976 was launched by O'Neil and artist Mike Grell.[30]
Reuniting with Adams, O'Neil co-wrote the oversize Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (1978) which Adams has called a personal favorite of their collaborations.[31]

Return to Marvel Comics

Upon O'Neil's return to Marvel Comics in 1980, he took on the scripting chores for The Amazing Spider-Man, which he did for a year. O'Neil wrote two issues of The Amazing Spider-Man Annual which were both drawn by Frank Miller. The 1980 Annual featured a team-up with Doctor Strange[32] while the 1981 Annual showcased a meeting with the Punisher.[33] He and artist John Romita Jr. introduced Madame Web in The Amazing Spider-Man #210[34] and Hydro-Man in #212.[35] O'Neil was the regular scripter for Iron Man from 1982–1986, and Daredevil, from 1983–1985. During his run on Iron Man, O'Neil introduced Obadiah Stane, later the Iron Monger, plunged Tony Stark back into alcoholism, turned Jim Rhodes into Iron Man,[36] and created the Silver Centurion armor. O'Neil's run on Daredevil bridged the gap between Frank Miller's two runs on the title, usually with David Mazzucchelli as artist. He introduced Yuriko Oyama during his stint, who would later become the popular X-Men villain Lady Deathstrike. While working for Marvel, he helped write the original character concept for the Transformers, and is credited as the person who named Optimus Prime.

Return to DC Comics

After returning to DC Comics in 1986, he became the editor of the various Batman titles and served in that capacity until 2000.[37] In February 1987, O'Neil began writing The Question ongoing series which was primarily drawn by Denys Cowan.[38] Between the years of 1988 and 1990, O'Neil would return to Green Arrow writing the annuals alongside the main title. Because he was also in charge of The Question, he would appear in all three annuals that he wrote. The Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight series began in 1989 with the five-part "Shaman" storyline by O'Neil and artist Ed Hannigan.[39]Armageddon 2001 was a 1991 crossover event storyline. It ran through a self-titled, two issue limited series and most of the annuals DC published that year from May through October. Each participating annual explored potential possible futures for its main characters. The series was written by O'Neil and Archie Goodwin and drawn by Dan Jurgens.[40] He and artist Joe Quesada created the character Azrael, who was introduced in the miniseries Batman: Sword of Azrael in 1992.[41] That same year, O'Neil wrote the Batman: Birth of the Demon hardcover graphic novel.[42] Another DC one-shot that O'Neil wrote in 1992 was Batman/Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow, where he would write his final story with the Green Arrow character.

Other writing

O'Neil has written several novels, comics, short stories, reviews and teleplays, including the novelizations of the films Batman Begins[43] and The Dark Knight.[44] Under the pseudonym Jim Dennis with writer Jim Berry,[3] O'Neil scripted a series of novels about a kung fu character named Richard Dragon, and later adapted those novels to comic book form for DC.[3][45]

Editing

Joining Marvel's editorial staff in 1980, O'Neil edited Daredevil during Frank Miller's run as writer/artist.[2] He fired writer Roger McKenzie so that Miller could both write and pencil Daredevil, a decision which then-Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter says saved the series from cancellation.[47] O'Neil encouraged Miller to develop a believable fighting style for Daredevil, and according to Miller, this directly led to his incorporating martial arts into Daredevil and later Ronin.[48] In the early to mid-1980s, O'Neil edited such Marvel titles asAlpha Flight, Power Man and Iron Fist, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and Moon Knight.[49]

In 1986, O'Neil moved over to DC as an editor, becoming group editor for the company's Batman titles. Speaking about his role in the death of character Jason Todd, O'Neil remarked:

It changed my mind about what I do for a living. Superman and Batman have been in continuous publication for over half a century, and it's never been true of any fictional construct before. These characters have a lot more weight than the hero of a popular sitcom that lasts maybe four years. They have become postindustrial folklore, and part of this job is to be the custodian of folk figures. Everybody on Earth knows Batman and Robin.[51]

O'Neil has said that he sees editing as a support role which should be invisible to the reader, and that if it were his choice his name would not appear in the credits when working as an editor, only when working as a writer.[6]

Teaching

O'Neil spent several years in the late 1990s teaching a Writing for the Comics course at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts, sometimes sharing duties with fellow comic book writer John Ostrander.

Personal life

O'Neil is married to Marifran O'Neil.[52] He is the father of writer/director/producer Lawrence O'Neil, best known for the 1997 film Breast Men starring David Schwimmer.[53]

Awards

O'Neil's work has won him a great deal of recognition in the comics industry, including the Shazam Awards for Best Continuing Feature Green Lantern/Green Arrow,[54] Best Individual Story for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" in Green Lantern #76 (with Neal Adams),[54] for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) in 1970[54] for Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, and other titles, and Best Individual Story for "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern #85 (with Neal Adams) in 1971.[55]

O'Neil was given a Goethe Award in 1971 for "Favorite Pro Writer"[56] and was a nominee for the same award in 1973. He shared a 1971 Goethe Award with artist Neal Adams for "Favorite Comic-Book Story" for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight."

Appearances in media

In The Batman Adventures—the first DC Comics spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series—O'Neil appears as The Perfesser, one of a screwball trio of incompetent super-villains that also includes The Mastermind (a caricature of Mike Carlin) and Mr. Nice (a caricature of Archie Goodwin). The Perfesser is depicted as a tall, pipe-smoking genius who often gets lost in his own thoughts, and who regularly forgets to give his criminal friends crucial information in planning their heists. (For example, after carefully planning a hotel robbery, the trio arrives at the hotel's location to find a vacant lot. The Perfesser then remembers that the hotel was torn down several years ago.) He is also shown to perhaps be smarter than Batman, as he manages to figure out the Riddler's riddle in the third part of The Last Riddler Story, when Batman himself did not.

^Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 145. ISBN 978-0756641238. Writer Dennis O'Neil revealed that it was not Xavier who had perished but a shape-shifter called the Changeling...This epic tale provided an appropriately grand finale for the work of legendary artist Neal Adams."CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)

^McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1960s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Carmine Infantino wanted to rejuvenate what had been perceived as a tired Wonder Woman, so he assigned writer Denny O'Neil and artist Mike Sekowsky to convert the Amazon Princess into a secret agent. Wonder Woman was made over into an Emma Peel type and what followed was arguably the most controversial period in the hero's history.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)

^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 133 "In less than a year on the Justice League of America series, scribe Denny O'Neil and artist Dick Dillin had made major changes to the team. Two issues after Wonder Woman left the JLA, the Martian Manhunter did the same."

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 139 "Real-world politics have always gone hand-in-hand with comics and their creators' own personal perspectives. Yet this was never more creatively expressed than when writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams paired the liberal Green Arrow with the conservative Green Lantern."

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 146 "It was taboo to depict drugs in comics, even in ways that openly condemned their use. However, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams collaborated on an unforgettable two-part arc that brought the issue directly into Green Arrow's home, and demonstrated the power comics had to affect change and perception."

^Greenberger, Robert; Manning, Matthew K. (2009). The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-7624-3663-8. Editor Julius Schwartz had decided to darken the character's world to further distance him from the camp environment created by the 1966 ABC show. Bringing in the talented O'Neil as well as the innovative Frank Robbins and showcasing the art of rising star Neal Adams...Schwartz pointed Batman in a new and darker direction, a path the character still continues on to this day.

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 143 "Artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O'Neil rescued Batman from the cozy, campy cul-de-sac he had been consigned to in the 1960s and returned the Dark Knight to his roots as a haunted crime fighter."

^Daniels, Les (1995). "Revamping the Classics The Old Guard Gets a New Look". DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes. New York, New York: Bulfinch Press. p. 157. ISBN 0821220764.

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 145: "Writer Denny O'Neil once stated that he and artist Neal Adams 'set out to consciously and deliberately to create a villain...so exotic and mysterious that neither we nor Batman were sure what to expect.' Who they came up with was arguably Batman's most cunning adversary: the global eco-terrorist named Ra's al Ghul."

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 145 "Before Batman first encountered one of his greatest adversaries, Ra's al Ghul, he met his daughter, the lovely but lethal Talia [in a story by] writer Denny O'Neil and artist Bob Brown."

^Greenberger and Manning, p. 161 and 163 "In 1973, O'Neil alongside frequent collaborator Neal Adams forged the landmark 'The Joker's Five-Way Revenge' in Batman #251, in which the Clown Prince of Crime returned to his murderous ways, killing his victims with his trademark Joker venom and taking much delight from their sufferings."

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 156: "After decades as an irritating prankster, Batman's greatest enemy re-established himself as a homicidal harlequin in this issue...this classic tale by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams introduced a dynamic that remains to this day: the Joker's dependence on Batman as his only worthy opponent."

^Greenberger and Manning, p. 30: "It was Dick Giordano who, among many other similar feats, drew the March 1976 fan-favorite issue #457 of Detective Comics to illustrate the fabled Denny O'Neil yarn 'There is No Hope in Crime Alley'."

^Manning "1970s" in Dougall (2014), p. 131: "The original female counterpart to Batman, Batwoman Kathy Kane was seemingly murdered...in this issue's lead feature written by Dennis O'Neal and illustrated by Don Newton."

^Manning "1980s" in Dougall (2014), p. 136: "One of the most important creators ever to work on Batman, writer/artist Frank Miller drew his first Bstman story in this issue. While it featured five self-contained tales, the story 'Wanted: Santa Claus – Dead or Alive', written by Denny O'Neil and penciled by Miller was the standout."

^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 171 "After a four-year hiatus, Green Lantern's ongoing series made a triumphant return to DC's publishing schedule...Returning writer Denny O'Neil partnered himself with artist Mike Grell, choosing to focus the title on sci-fi and super-heroics."

^Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 120: "Writer Denny O'Neil teamed with artist Frank Miller to concoct a Spider-Man annual that played to both their strengths. Miller and O'Neil seemed to flourish in the gritty world of street crime so tackling a Spider/Punisher fight was a natural choice."

^Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 116: "Writer Denny O'Neil's newest contribution to the Spider-Man mythos would come in the form of psychic Madame Web, a character introduced with the help of artist John Romita, Jr."

^DeFalco, Tom "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 211: "Jim was the natural choice to replace [Stark] as Iron Man when Tony's problem's with alcohol prevented him from doing the job. Jim continued in his role until The Invincible Iron Man #199 (Oct. 1985)."

^Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 227 "Formerly part of the Charlton Comics line, the Question carved his mysterious niche into the DC Universe with the help of writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Denys Cowan."

^Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 241: "Written by Dennis O'Neil with art by Edward Hannigan, 'Shaman' helped jump-start this popular new title."

^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 250: "Armageddon 2001 was the DC Comics event of the summer...Written by Archie Goodwin and Denny O'Neil, and drawn by penciler Dan Jurgens."

^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 255: "Azrael, one of the most important characters of the modern Batman mythos, was dropped right under the noses of an unsuspecting reading populace in the debut issue of Batman: Sword of Azrael by esteemed bat-scribe Denny O'Neil, talented young penciler Joe Quesada, and inker extraordinaire Kevin Nowlan."

^Manning "1990s" in Dougall (2014), p. 198: "The third and final installment of the Ra's al Ghul hardcover trilogy arrived in this origin volume by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Norm Breyfogle."

^Cronin, Brian (October 12, 2006). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #72". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2013. Give Denny O'Neil credit for that. He started it by naming Optimus Prime. Generally, Hasbro wanted more literal names for most of the toys, but for some of the really major toys, they preferred names with more grandeur to them.

Air Wave is the name of three fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The first two were active in the Golden Age of Comic Books (albeit the second Air Wave had one appearance). The third appears in comics as of the 21st century.

Batman Family was an American comic book anthology series published by DC Comics which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters to the superhero Batman. An eight-issue miniseries called Batman: Family was published from December 2002 to February 2003.

The term "Batman Family" is most commonly used as the informal name for Batman's closest allies, generally masked vigilantes operating in Gotham City.

Heroes for Hope: Starring the X-Men is a 1985 Marvel comic book designed to raise awareness about hunger in Africa. Proceeds from the comic went to the American Friends Service Committee, to assist in their work on behalf of African famine relief and recovery. Published in the form of a "comic jam," or exquisite corpse, the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as a few notable authors from outside the comic book industry, such as Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, and Edward Bryant. It also saw a rare Alan Moore Marvel Comics credit outside his early Marvel UK work.

Heroes for Hope featured some memorable artist/writer and penciler/inker pairings, including Stan Lee and John Buscema; Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson; Moore and Richard Corben; Harlan Ellison, Frank Miller, and Bill Sienkiewicz; Mike Baron and Steve Rude, Howard Chaykin inked by Walt Simonson; and John Byrne and Terry Austin reuniting on the X-Men.

I Ching (often spelled I-Ching) is a fictional, blind martial artist published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Wonder Woman vol. 1 #179 (November 1968), and was created by Denny O'Neil and Mike Sekowsky.

Iron Monger is an identity used by several fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first character to use the alias is Obadiah Stane, who first appeared in Iron Man #163 (October 1982). Created by Dennis O'Neil and Luke McDonnell, the Iron Monger armor first appeared in Iron Man #200 (November 1985).

Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus is a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a delusional criminal mastermind who believes that he is the god Zeus and is an occasional enemy of Batman.

Richard Dragon is a fictional comic book character created by Dennis O'Neil and James R. Berry in the novel Kung Fu Master, Richard Dragon: Dragon's Fists (1974) under the pseudonym "Jim Dennis". O'Neil later adapted the character for DC Comics in the comic book Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter.Dragon is a thief who was trained in martial arts and decides to use his abilities for good. Along with Batman, Bronze Tiger, Black Canary, and Lady Shiva he is considered one of the top martial artists in the DC Universe.

In DC's The New 52 continuity, Jeff Lemire introduced a new villanous character going by the name Richard Dragon, who was later revealed to be Ricardo Diaz, Jr., and to have been mentored by and killed the original heroic Richard Dragon. This later version of the character is subsequently adapted for the live-action TV series Arrow, portrayed by Kirk Acevedo and going by the name the "Dragon".

Superman vs. Muhammad Ali is an oversize celebrity comics comic book published by DC Comics in 1978. The 72-page book features Superman teaming up with the heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali to defeat an alien invasion of Earth. It was based on an original story by Dennis O'Neil which was adapted by Neal Adams, with pencils by Adams, and figure inks by Dick Giordano with background inks by Terry Austin.

"The Man Who Falls" is a 1989 comic book story by Dennis O'Neil and Dick Giordano. It is an overview of Bruce Wayne's early life, including his parents' murder, his time spent traveling and training throughout the world, and his return to Gotham City to become Batman.

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